Wadana Kakakhel, Grade 12
UWCEA Moshi Campus
“Don’t get attached to the D2s bro.”
My second year arrived on campus late and one of the first conversations I remember having with her in person was about her friends in D2. We were going through her camera roll and I could see how close she was to them, she would smile whenever she saw a specific picture and tell me the backstory behind it. At the time, I was too busy trying to get to know everyone in my own class to be bothered to interact with second years, but right when I thought I was going to go through the year without forming an emotional bond with any D2, December break hit.
A whole month living with random second years that I had never properly interacted with ended with fond memories of tons of late night conversations, uno games, dining with the same few people everyday, exploring Moshi on New Year’s, and a sense of familiarity around strangers that had now become friends. In that month and the ones that would follow, I learned so much about myself and how much I valued human connection. From them, I realized how wrong first impressions can be. Someone I thought was shy turned out to be an incredible actor that was part of the cast with me in the school play, one of the people I thought was relatively quiet became the sarcastic know-it-all at the dining table, and each one made me realize how little we know about people until we let them express themselves.
One of the second years would always be out and about, I hadn’t seen her the whole day once and when I asked about her I found out that she had gone to Dar es Salaam, a city 9 hours away from where we were by car. When she was around, she brought joy and warmth with her and after spending more time with her towards the end of the year I have learned to stress a little less and live a little more. She taught me the value of kindness and just the memory of her brings me great joy. The graduation ceremony felt like a major turning point because within just a day, most D2s would leave campus and even though some stayed for longer, it felt like they were there as guests. The biggest impact they made on my UWC journey is to expect people to surprise me, because my imagination can never do them justice.
Looking back now, my second semester was shaped by the interactions I had with the second years. By quarter 4, they were practically done with everything related to the IB and no longer had any classes, so we would only see them in the dining hall or studying around campus. The corridors didn’t have any second years rushing to go to their next class and those few weeks felt like a transition from us being in the first year of our UWC experience to getting ready for what the next year would bring. All my interactions with the second years make me feel like I’m somehow prepared for what D2 will bring, and I can’t wait to tell them all about the journey!
Sorry, my lovely D2, I did get attached.
My second year arrived on campus late and one of the first conversations I remember having with her in person was about her friends in D2. We were going through her camera roll and I could see how close she was to them, she would smile whenever she saw a specific picture and tell me the backstory behind it. At the time, I was too busy trying to get to know everyone in my own class to be bothered to interact with second years, but right when I thought I was going to go through the year without forming an emotional bond with any D2, December break hit.
A whole month living with random second years that I had never properly interacted with ended with fond memories of tons of late night conversations, uno games, dining with the same few people everyday, exploring Moshi on New Year’s, and a sense of familiarity around strangers that had now become friends. In that month and the ones that would follow, I learned so much about myself and how much I valued human connection. From them, I realized how wrong first impressions can be. Someone I thought was shy turned out to be an incredible actor that was part of the cast with me in the school play, one of the people I thought was relatively quiet became the sarcastic know-it-all at the dining table, and each one made me realize how little we know about people until we let them express themselves.
One of the second years would always be out and about, I hadn’t seen her the whole day once and when I asked about her I found out that she had gone to Dar es Salaam, a city 9 hours away from where we were by car. When she was around, she brought joy and warmth with her and after spending more time with her towards the end of the year I have learned to stress a little less and live a little more. She taught me the value of kindness and just the memory of her brings me great joy. The graduation ceremony felt like a major turning point because within just a day, most D2s would leave campus and even though some stayed for longer, it felt like they were there as guests. The biggest impact they made on my UWC journey is to expect people to surprise me, because my imagination can never do them justice.
Looking back now, my second semester was shaped by the interactions I had with the second years. By quarter 4, they were practically done with everything related to the IB and no longer had any classes, so we would only see them in the dining hall or studying around campus. The corridors didn’t have any second years rushing to go to their next class and those few weeks felt like a transition from us being in the first year of our UWC experience to getting ready for what the next year would bring. All my interactions with the second years make me feel like I’m somehow prepared for what D2 will bring, and I can’t wait to tell them all about the journey!
Sorry, my lovely D2, I did get attached.
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